Kingdom of Saudia Arabia has offered its role to bridge the gap between the US and China, the world’s biggest economies. Saudi’s offer came in the middle of the World Economic Forum which is underway in Davos.
Media reports claimed that Saudi Arabia’s officials have said KSA can help be a conduit between the U.S. and China at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said Monday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The comments came amid questions over what the minister was most worried about in 2023. He called for calm and cooperation, noting his country’s ability to maintain an open dialogue with all major political powers amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, competition between Washington and Beijing, and a volatile energy market.
“We made our position very clear on these issues — whether it is in the general assembly in the United Nations or other forums,” he added.
Relying to a query about Saudi Arabia’s ability to facilitate dialogue between adversarial powers like the U.S. and China, al-Jadaan said: “I would say absolutely yes. We have a very strategic relationship with the U.S., and we have a close relationship with China, and we think we can bridge the gap.”
Fact is that the Saudi kingdom and the United States have a relationship that dates back to the 1930s, and which has been summed up in broad terms as one of oil in exchange for security. The U.S. has military installments in Saudi Arabia, selling advanced weaponry and providing training and joint operations with the Saudi military. This relationship continues amicably despite the fact that the two sides have locked horns over the supply and demand of oil recently. Still, the two sides enjoy a good relationship which may enable the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to make the US and China sit across the table.
At present, the Biden administration’s critical stance toward the kingdom poured some cold water on the nearly century-old relationship of late, with Saudi Arabia subsequently refusing to pump more oil for the global market to balance out the loss of Russian supply, despite pleas from the White House. The loss of Russian oil and gas to Western markets comes from sanctions imposed by the U.S. and EU over Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
However, the Kingdom still can make the Biden administration agree to sit across the table with Chinese leadership, according to foreign experts.
According to CNBC, China, meanwhile, has for years been making inroads — especially economically — as Saudi Arabia’s top trading partner and the largest buyer of its oil. Riyadh’s relationship with Beijing is more functional and economic than strategic, meaning it is not likely to supplant the U.S.’s role in the kingdom anytime soon.
However, Saudi Arabia in recent years has been buying more Chinese weapons, in particular the ones that Washington has been less than willing to sell its Gulf ally, like lethal drones. Technology transfers and Chinese infrastructure projects are also growing in the kingdom, as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman seeks to diversify his country’s alliances and make it more independent.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia in December, and the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement that the Chinese foreign ministry at the time called “an epoch-making milestone in the history of China-Arab relations.”
As the war in Ukraine grinds on, the United States is looking internationally to partners to weaken Russia’s influence. It’s also seeking to blunt China’s growing reach.
In the Mideast, President Joe Biden has reached out to Gulf allies like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in an attempt to align interests. While visiting Saudi Arabia last summer, he tried to reassure Arab leaders of U.S. commitment to the region’s security. But Gulf nations aren’t rushing to side with Washington.
Here’s a look at key issues affecting U.S.-Gulf ties into 2023.
There are tensions over an oil pact with Russia
The Saudi-led Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has stuck to a pandemic-era pact with Russia to curb production and keep oil prices up. The agreement has helped Russia retain some of its spending power despite Western sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine.
A decision by the group known as OPEC+ to cut production in November by 2 million barrels a day prompted bipartisan outrage in Washington at the time.
The Saudis insist the OPEC+ decision was based on global market forecasts. They point to the price of oil, trading at under $80 a barrel, as proof that the decision did not send prices soaring in light of China’s sluggish economic growth, according to NPR.